Spike, Jerry, and the runaway cat
by 1jckuhn
Summary: When his latest chase with Jerry lands him in hot water with his owners, Tom decides to run away and start a new life. Jerry, however, feels bad and puts together a team to get Tom back. Can they succeed in their mission?
1. Goodbye

Tom had finally had enough of that pesky mouse, Jerry. Because of that pesky mouse he trashed up the house and was blamed for it. He had lost all his tuna fish wet food for a week and was stuck with the dry tasteless kind.

"I've had it with this family, I'm heading somewhere far from here and hopefully find a new family, new friends, and a new place with NO dogs," he grumbled to himself.

That night, Tom was as true as his word. He took a red cloth and wrapped his food bowl and four cans of cat food that he managed to get out of the top shelf, before getting a stick and tying the red cloth and its contents to it. Before leaving, Tom wrote a note for Jerry and Nibbles and did the same for Spike. He looked at the clock on the wall. It was 4:45 in the morning.

"Jerry and Spike don't usually get up until 7:00. By the time the clock does strike seven. I'll be out of their range and they'll realize too late what jerks they've been to me," the gray cat mumbled to himself, careful not to accidentally wake Jerry.

He carefully slid out the pet door, before glancing at the dog house that belonged to Spike and his son, Tyke. Tom dropped a letter in front of the little wooden house, before heading out to the great beyond.

"Time to leave my troubles behind and start a new life," Tom said with a smile as he watched the sunrise as he walked.


	2. Assembling the team

Later that morning at 7:00 A.M.

BBBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGG!

Jerry yawned, opened his eyes, and shut off his alarm clock. He then headed to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and took a hot shower. Once he was finished freshening up, he decided to go annoy his feline rival. He hung a right and headed toward the kitchen, when he noticed a piece of paper taped next to his hole. He pulled it down and read it.

_Dear Jerry_

_If you've found this letter it means you now know that I've run away from home to start a new life. Don't bother trying to find me because by the time you're read this I'm on a freight train bound for who-knows-where. So the next time you steal food from the kitchen, you won't have to worry about any obstacles. I hope you enjoy a good life without me._

_Sincerely, Tom Cat_

Jerry was in complete shock. This wasn't like Tom to just give up like that. He didn't like Tom, but he didn't want to have him out of his life completely. The little brown mouse knew he had to do something rather than nothing. He quickly ran back into his hole and alerted his nephew, Nibbles. Nibbles was shocked and immediately got ready to head outside.

Then Spike and Tyke came running in through the pet door. Spike was holding a piece of paper with the same font on Jerry's piece of paper.

"Jerry," Spike panted. "Tom's run away. He left this on the side of my dog house."

Jerry quickly looked over Spike's letter while reading it thoroughly.

_Dear Spike_

_If you've found this letter it means you now know that I've run away from home to start a new life. Don't bother trying to find me because by the time you're read this I'm on a freight train bound for who-knows-where. So the next time you play out in the yard, you won't have to worry about me messing with you in any way. I hope you enjoy a good life without me._

_Sincerely, Tom Cat_

"We have to find a way to get Tom back," Spike said.

"But how do we do that?" Jerry asked. "Tom said it himself he's on a freight train bound for who-knows-where."

Spike suddenly remembered. "Jerry, wait. There's a train freight yard right near our house. If anything, Tom's heading the opposite direction."

"You're a genius!" Jerry squeaked happily as he hugged Spike's ankle.

"We want to come too," said Tyke. "Can we, dad, can we?"

"Yeah, we want an adventure," Nibbles added.

"I don't say why not," Spike said.

The puppy and mouse whooped happily.

The four friends packed essentials for their trip, but they needed a bigger team.

Spike found the mocking bird that was friends with Jerry and asked her for some assistance. She was reluctant to help, but when Spike explained it was for Jerry, it convinced her to join the team

Jerry found Butch and Meathead in their home alley. Like the mockingbird, Butch and Meathead were both reluctant to help a mouse, but when they heard that their buddy, Tom had run away, they immediately packed essentials for the trip. With a new and improved team, the seven friends set off to find Tom


	3. Starting a new life

On a long freight train, two miles away from Jerry's house. 7:45 A.M.

Tom had been on the freight train for a half-hour. The boxcar Tom was riding in had a broken lock, allowing him to open the door on the left side, and granting him the pleasure of looking at the scenery. He enjoyed all the sights he passed as the train motored from Point A to Point B. Whenever the train had to stop for a load inspection to make sure nothing was stolen, Tom fastened the lock as best he could, then crouched behind two crates in the corner. After two hours, the train arrived at its destination. Tom hid himself in a crate which was only half full. It was a little tight, but the gray cat didn't complain.

Once the train station was out of view, Tom headed toward the nearest hotel. He had secretly been saving money for any possible emergencies. He took it with him and counted it while he was on the train. It totaled almost $400.

"This'll be enough to last me through the week," he mumbled.

Before he headed to a hotel he needed a disguise. He was near certain that Jerry and his pals would be coming to find him.

He purchased a grey hoodie, brown pants, fake glasses, a fake mustache, and a pair of cheap slip-on shoes. It came out to $70. Tom immediately put on his new clothes to see f he looked like he'd blend in with the other humans. It did look pretty convincing.

"Time to go find a hotel for the night," he said.

He soon found a hotel by the train station. He put on his disguise and decided too see if it worked. He walked to the receptionist desk and talked in his best human voice.

"Excuse me, ma'am. But how much is it to spend the night here?" he asked.

"Well, it costs $50 for one night, but it costs $300 for the week," the receptionist lady replied.

"I'll take the $300 week stay," Tom said.

"Very well, here's your room key," replied the receptionist lady.

"Thank you."

Tom gave her the $300 dollars and was give his room key. It read 331.

Tom headed to the third floor, found his room and put his bowl on the floor and his cans on the dresser by his bed.

"Good night, Tom," he said to himself, before turning out the light and drifting off to dreamland.


	4. Cooking up a plan

At the level crossing near the train yard. 11:45 A.M.

Jerry, Spike, Butch, Meathead, Nibbles, Tyke, and Momma Mockingbird had packed essentials for the trip and were now ready to jump on the train. They heard the loud horn as the level gates dropped and the red lights began to flash. The train passed the level gates rather slowly.

They jumped in a box car with a broken lock and found were just settling into their ride when Spike's nose picked up on a scent.

"Guys, Tom was in this car. I picked up his scent."

"This must be the train he rode in," Jerry exclaimed. "We really lucked out!"

"We have to lay low, though," Butch suggested. "If Tom knows were coming, he'll most surely go into hiding and we'll never find him."

"Good plan, Butch," Jerry said. "We should stay out of sight. We don't want to raise any suspicions."

Soon, the train arrived at the station and the seven animals snuck off the train and Spike took the lead to find Tom. He picked up a strong scent of the grey cat due to his good sense of smell.

They eventually spotted Tom entering a large store labeled "Old Navy". He came out about 20 minutes later carrying a grey hoodie, a pair of brown pants, fake glasses, a fake mustache, and a pair of cheap slip-on shoes. He slipped into an alley way and came out wearing his disguise 10 minutes later.

"Alright we know what he looks like, but how do we get him to come back?" asked Spike.

"We could try to give him small gifts for a week, and then on the seventh day, we'll reveal that we gave him those gifts and he'll be touched enough to come back," Jerry suggested.

"You know what, I don't give compliments easily, but that's a good plan, Jerry," Butch said.

Thanks, Butch," Jerry said. "Let's follow him to see where he sleeps at night."

They quietly tailed Tom and saw him go into a nearby hotel.

They expected him to come back out again so they hid in a nearby thicket of trees, but instead they watched him go to the window on the third floor in one of the rooms and closed the curtains.

"Aw, man. I almost forgot, we have to find a place for the night," Meathead said.

"I saw a bridge about a half a mile from this hotel," Spike said. "That would be a good place to sleep."

"Anything better than my old trash can back home," Butch said.

They headed to the bridge and found a nice patch of cool grass where they could sleep for the next six nights.

It would be getting dark soon. So Jerry and Nibbles volunteered to go get a few of the seven gifts.

They came back an hour and a half later with seven bags of cat treats accompanied with seven small, multi-colored, foam balls.

"We'll give Tom one bag of treats and one ball each day. On the seventh day, we'll all hide in a large box with the final bag of treats and ball and reveal it was us. He'll be truly touched," Jerry explained.

"That sounds like a plan," Butch said. "Now let's get some sleep. It's getting late."

The seven animals curled up close to one another to conserve body heat and all mumbled "Goodnight" before heading to dreamland.


	5. Day 2 of 7

The next day at 8:30 A.M.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Tom shut off his alarm clock, got up and yawned.

"Good morning, world," he mumbled.

He used the can opener in the hotel room to open a can of tuna fish he brought along, dropped its contents in his bowl, ate it, put on his disguise, and prepared to head outside to scrounge for coins. He did this for a hobby when he was just a kitten and managed to rack up $65 in loose change. His parents disapproved of the idea and after a big fight with them, Tom, now a teenager in cat years, ran away taking his change with him. After spending all of it on essentials, he was picked up by a large, armored truck and taken to an animal shelter. He was later adopted by Rick and Ginger and stayed with them for two years before he ended up here. He wondered if the others missed him.

"Forget them. All they've done is cause me grief. I don't need them. Never have, never will," Tom said firmly.

He headed out the door and into the elevator and saw a small gift with his name on it on the receptionist desk

"That's odd," He thought. "I don't know anyone here, and the people I do know aren't nice enough to send me anything."

He took the present back upstairs and opened it to reveal a bag of his favorite cat treats and a striped, foam ball.

"Wow," he mumbled. "Now who'd go and do that to me?"

He was unaware that Spike and Jerry were outside on a tree branch and saw the whole thing.

"Yes! He doesn't suspect a thing," Jerry quietly whooped.

The bulldog and mouse quietly slid down the tree and hid in the bush just as Tom exited the front door.

"Alright, time to scrounge for some change," Tom said to himself.

*** 8 Hours Later at 5:00 P.M. ***

Tom came back to his hotel room tired, but happy. He found $60 in loose change and figured he could buy food for the week and probably more so.

He turned on the TV and watched his favorite show, Ice Road Truckers for three hours.

He looked at the bag of cat treats and decided to eat them for dinner. He gobbled up the treats as they were his favorite kind and looked at the clock. It was a quarter past 8:00 P.M.

"I'm really worn out from scrounging for change," Tom said. "No harm in heading to dreamland early."

He turned out all the lights and the TV. Then he climbed into bed and prepared for his 12-hour beauty rest.

"Goodnight, Tom," he mumbled while closing his eyes.

Back outside Jerry and the gang were all curled up outside under the bridge. Everyone was asleep except for Jerry. He wanted Tom back so bad.

"I hope he likes his gifts," he said to himself, looking at the moon. "I do care about you, Tom. I just wish I showed you sooner."


	6. Caught In The Act

***The Next Morning, 8:30 A.M.***

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Once again, Tom shut off his alarm clock and had his breakfast. He had a plan to head to the supermarket and buy a large salmon to cook. He had learned a lot of skills from his now former owners. They included cooking, writing, and even driving.

As he strolled to the elevator and into the lobby, he noticed a gift with his name on it.

"Again?" The grey cat mumbled.

As he picked up the gift, he saw a small brown hair and his nose picked up a familiar smell.

"It can't be," he said. "Jerry can't be here, unless he's got help."

He went back up to his room and opened it. There was another bag of cat treats and a foam, multi-colored ball.

Tom wasn't mad at Jerry, but he was curious to see what his plan was.

"Let's see if I can't follow the scent to see where Jerry is hiding out," Tom said.

He followed the scent for a half mile from his hotel until it lead under a bridge.

Jerry and his friends spotted Tom tracking down their scent and tried to run away, but Tom caught sight of them and gave chase.

Eventually Tom caught up to them and they expected him to be angry, but he seemed calm.

"I'm not angry, I just want to talk," Tom started. "First off, how did you find me?"

"I picked up your scent in the train when we were riding in it," Spike replied.

"Spike had your scent the whole time, Tom," Butch explained.

"I suppose that's how you found out what hotel I was staying in," Tom said.

"We want you back home, Tom. It's not the same without you. I may dislike you, but that doesn't mean I want you out of my life completely," Jerry said.

"How do I know you mean that?" Tom asked.

"Because we have more treats and balls packed away for you. We planned to give them to you over the next five days without you knowing who sent them, but I guess we got too big for our bridges. I understand if you're still upset and don't want to come back home," Jerry replied.

"I see that you miss me dearly and you want me back. I'll come back on one condition. You have to be nicer to me and not be a jerk," Tom said.

"I promise, Tom," Jerry said.

"I'll be back at the end of the week. I rented my hotel room for a whole week. You all can go home," Tom said.

"No, we're staying here until next four days are over," Meathead declared.

"Alright, suit yourself, but I'm not letting you sleep out here. You're coming to my hotel room," Tom said.

"Thanks, buddy," Butch said.

It wasn't easy, but Tom snuck the seven animals back in saying they were strays and he didn't have the heart to leave them outside.

For the next four days, the eight friends got food for the rest of the week, watched TV, and relaxed in the hotel room.


	7. Epilogue

Five days later at Tom and Jerry's house, 1:30 P.M.

Tom had moved back into his old house. Jerry was true to his word and didn't cause any trouble for Tom.

As a thank you, Tom snuck small pieces of food to Jerry's hole at 7:00 in the morning, 12:30 in the afternoon, and at 6:00 in the evening. It was safe to say that the two had thrown their rivalry aside permanently.

At bedtime, Jerry would usually fall asleep on top of Tom.

"What a week," Jerry said as he began to drift off to sleep on Tom's belly. "I went on an adventure to a new place, I got Tom back, and I threw our rivalry aside."

He looked up at the snoozing figure that was Tom.

"Goodnight, Tom. Here's to a new life," Jerry yawned and joined Tom in dreamland.


End file.
